


Stolen

by IcyStarlight



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-08-31 08:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8571469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyStarlight/pseuds/IcyStarlight
Summary: To steal: to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, especially secretly or by force. It all happened so fast. Some girl had been screaming at Yuri and then she’d broken through security. It all happened so fast he forgot to breathe when it was over. He still can’t seem to remember.





	1. Shatter

**Author's Note:**

> AN: So in light of the recent episode I realized I am shooting way too low on this fic so the first chap has now been edited to fit better where I want to take this story.

When Yuri told him to watch only him and no one else, Viktor agreed without second thought. As if he’d be able to look anywhere else in the first place. The skater had grown so much since the beginning of the season. Viktor couldn’t imagine a world where he never came to coach Yuri because at this point it just seemed like the one thing he was meant to do. A quadruple flip landed with graceful effort. Yuri had come so far, they were so close to the Grand Prix Finals. Just one more win.

They were going to make it. Viktor didn’t even need to wait to see the score. He swept Yuri up in a gigantic hug and kissed the skater’s forehead. They were going to the Grand Prix. Had there ever been any doubt? Not in his mind, but still, it was exhilarating. Winning always felt different with Yuri, better than winning alone ever felt. He couldn’t even imagine how winning the Grand Prix Finals would feel. He couldn’t wait for that moment. 

He hadn’t even registered the yelling at first. Drowned out against the sea of cheering audience members, it seemed simply distant from the current moment both skater and coach had been swept up in. Only when the words cut like blades into ice, did he listen beyond Yuri’s excited babble.

“Get your hand off him you filthy pig! He’s mine you hear! Viktor is mine and you’ll burn in hell for every second you even so much as breathe the same air as him!” A woman stood beyond the security fence. She was screaming at him. Not him, Yuri. She was yelling at Yuri because of him. Yuri, a beacon of inspiration who was so much more than he could have ever imagined. Yuri, who despite keeping Viktor at arm’s length in the beginning, now felt like a part of Viktor he never wanted to lose. Yuri, with all his doubts and fears, who never wanted to lose and had a drive to win that scared even him sometimes.

So, he treated the bitch like she deserved. He led the ecstatic skater away from those who could harm him. Yuri could take care of himself, Viktor knew this above all else, but he’d be damned if he let anyone hurt the skater under his arm. This only seemed to make it worse.

She yelled louder, so much so that he flinched. Security moved into action, but not before she did. He felt Yuri jolt under his arm. He felt the shiver of fear travel down his spine. He heard the crash of metal against the floor. He felt the shove from Yuri and the pain of hitting the ground. He didn’t hear Yuri’s scream.

He felt it of course. He felt it deep in his bones, in his heart, and he knew that he never wanted to hear it again. He never wanted to even think it could be a possibility to hear that noise again. By the sky above, if he ever even saw that same look of fear on his skater’s face again someone would have hell to pay. But right there, in that moment, he could do nothing but watch. She stabbed Yuri. She stabbed him with a knife and twisted it like the twisted smile on her face. She cried and wretched it out of the skater’s body with a laugh. Red met pale skin and frosted ice. Viktor felt his world fall right out from his grasp.

He screamed. The audience screamed. Reporters screamed. Other skaters screamed. The heavens probably screamed too. He caught Yuri in his arms. This is not how victory was supposed to go. This is not what was supposed to happen. Yuri smiled at him and Viktor could see his own tears on his skater’s face. This, this was not how their story was supposed to go.

He didn’t know how long he spent holding Yuri in his arms. Pleading, crying, yelling, anything for Yuri to just open his eyes and be okay. Someone touched his shoulder and had it not been for Yurio screaming at him in Russian he might have lashed out at the paramedic who was there to help. So for the first time in a long time, he listened to someone else’s order. Did what someone else told him to do, and let Yuri go. He tried to ignore the heart wrenching feeling in his gut. The rock in his chest. It only got worse when he climbed into the ambulance.

Viktor didn’t remember the ambulance ride. Didn’t remember when Phichit sat next to him and told him that Yuri hated to lose so he wouldn’t lose this fight. Didn’t remember Yurio berating him for attracting all the press to the hospital and making it so hard to get in. Didn’t remember Yakov handing him a drink. He didn’t remember when Yuri’s family had called. When Minako had held his hand as she spoke rapid fire Japanese to the Katsuki family about the situation. When she told him the both parents said they didn’t blame him. He did remember the guilt.

That was his fan. Someone who admired him and supported him. His fan who attacked Yuri and hurt him. This was all because of him. He shouldn’t have done this, shouldn’t have gotten so close, should’ve kept playing his cards alone. No matter how much he hated it, no matter how unhappy he had been, it was not worth this. Not worth seeing Yuri in that ambulance. Not worth watching the one he loved suffer. He didn’t remember when he had started crying.

It felt like an eternity. A frozen tundra where the sun no longer shined because he didn’t know if Yuri would ever shine again. A doctor walked out into the waiting room. The news was not perfect, but Viktor didn’t care. Yuri was alive. He would not be participating in the Grand Prix Finals. Maybe he would never skate competitive again. But he was alive. In that moment, it had been more than enough. 

Viktor was the first to see him. Only black hair made Yuri stand out from the white sheets. He looked so pale and fragile. The stab wound had missed his vital organs. Sure Yuri had been in shape, but the last win had a little too much celebration involving the skater’s favorite dish. The doctor’s said while he would make a full recovery, it would take time. The wound was in a crucial place right on the skater’s side and while it was currently not lethal, it could become infected and easily reopened with too much movement. The Grand Prix Finals were out of the question. 

Yuri was right here and he was alive. Viktor thought that would’ve been enough, until Yuri woke up.

“Huh? Victor? Where, where are we? What happened?” Yuri looked at him through half opened eyes. Oh god, he was going to be so heartbroken.

“Yuri, what’s the last thing you remember?” He grabbed the skater’s hands and helped him sit up.

“I, I won and someone came at you. You’re okay right? Are you okay Victor?” Yuri looked ready to cry, he couldn’t do this. He didn’t even seem to notice the wound on his side. How could he not notice it? 

“I, I’m fine Yuri. You, you,” he couldn’t even say it. Thankfully he didn’t have to, Minako came in and took over for him. Since Yuri was only allowed one visitor right now, Viktor got up and left. He pretended not to see the look she gave him when he walked out. He didn’t need anyone else feeling sorry for him. He already felt like he was the one who caused this to happen. He was the one to cause this to happen, that had been his, she did this to Yuri because of him. It was all his fault. 

Yuri had once said that Viktor would be better off without him. He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but now, it didn’t look like he had a choice.


	2. Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So I’ll be altering povs between Yuri and Viktor and with it, names will change. Yuri will now be Yuuri from his own pov and Viktor will become Victor. I hope that makes sense and even if it is just a slight change, it makes sense to me with the language barrier and all. If it gets too confusing I can always change it back, but for now the show must go on!

When Victor left the room he didn’t know what to think. It also hadn’t dawned on him that he was the one in the hospital bed till after he had watched the man walk out of the door. Oh, so that’s what the throbbing pain in his side was. Wait so then, that meant, that lady had been aiming for… oh. That’s why Victor…

“Yuuri, Oi Yuuri, are you okay? Minako-sensei was waving her hand in his face. 

“Oh, yes! I’m, I’m fine,” he could feel the stitches in his skin, how was he supposed to skate in the Grand Prix now? “As fine as I can be anyways.”

“I, I don’t really know what to say other than I’m sorry. I know you were so close, but there’s always next year. No matter what you decide though, we’ll be with you one hundred percent.”

“What are you talking about Minako-sensei?” 

“Yuuri, you won’t be able to skate in the Grand Prix Finals like this” she reached forward for his hand but Yuuri pulled them away. No, this couldn’t be true. After so long, working so hard, he was so close, and it had all just been ripped away. He was used to failures, but this time he hadn’t even had a chance to fail.

He didn’t know when Minako-sensei left the room. Yuuri had been too busy staring at nothing. Why? Why had this happened? He didn’t regret protecting Victor. In fact, he’d do it again in a heartbeat. But why right in that moment? Was he just never supposed to win? Maybe he really should’ve quit last season.

No. He had worked so hard. He wasn’t going to let this stop him. He’d suffer, he’d break, he’d skate through the pain, but he’d still skate. He had to see this through. It wouldn’t kill him if the knife hadn’t. He wanted to be on top of that podium. He wanted to see Victor’s face, everyone’s face, when he won. He wanted to surprise them all and that’s what he would do. Even if killed him. 

Not literally though, dying didn’t sound like fun. After he had finally come so far? No thank you. Besides, he had Victor now. As if he’d just go and die now that his idol was his boyfriend. No, their story was just beginning. His skating story though, that needed to close. Winning the Grand Prix Finals would be the end for him. So right then, Yuuri promised himself, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much people argued against it, he’d be skating at the Grand Prix Finals.

Awhile later after his friends had come to visit, the doctor came back in. He’d gotten hopeful it was Victor each time the door opened, but Leo said that he’d seen the Russian leave the hospital. Guang Hong, said he saw the other Yuri go after him. Phichit told him not to worry about it, he had talked to Yuri and the young skater was going to go talk some sense to the missing coach. 

Yuuri didn’t know how he felt about that.

The doctor said bed rest for a week and then limited activity for three months after. No skating, no exercising, and nothing in between that could agitate his stitches. If the wound opened again, there was a strong possibility it’d become infected.

Well, he’d just have to be extra careful then.

Okay, so maybe he’d been under-estimating exactly how much everyone believed the Grand Prix Finals were out of the question for him. Minako-sensei wheeled him, in his wheelchair, to the airport and then from the airport back home. His family hadn’t let him do much of anything other than sleep and eat. Friends and fans had been sending messages for him to recover and to get the gold next season. The reports said there would only be five finalist this year or that someone else would take his spot. 

He thought they were all insane. 

Victor was the only one of them who made him mad though. The man had shown up a day later after Yuuri had gotten back home. His coach had done nothing but mope around. Even Makkachin seemed feed up with his owner’s gloom. Yuuri was out of ideas on how to cheer Victor up. He had tried everything he could think of -- okay so not everything -- every logical and practical idea that he could think of, still Victor was depressed. He wasn’t going to let that hold him back.

So two days after he’d been freed from the confines of his bed, he slowly walked over to the Ice Castle. Under the guise of taking Makkachin out, he wasn’t an idiot. A few people did stop and fuss, but he merely waved them off saying both him and Makkachin had been getting restless being cooped up so they were out on a short walk. 

He avoided the Nishigori family by using his spare key. It was early enough they shouldn’t be near the rink. He made it out onto the rink after carefully lacing up his skates. His side did hurt, even with the pain medication, but he wasn’t going to let it stop him yet. Makkachin waited outside the rink for him. He hoped he could at least get a lap in before someone came and yelled at him. 

He took a step onto the ice and closed the rink’s gate behind him. It felt good to be back on ice after laying around for a week. One baby glide after another. No need to do any spins or step sequences yet. Definitely not any jumps. He wanted to actually skate in the finals, not blow it all right now. Just get the feel for his side right now. It pulled a little when he curved too much, but it wasn’t sharp enough to make him stop skating.

Yuuri was on his third lap when a yell made him falter. 

“Yuri what do you think you’re doing! Get off there! Do you know how worried I was when I woke up and you were gone! What do you think you’re doing!” Victor stood at the gate panting. Sure he was mad at Victor currently, but the blond looked ready to burst into tears. So he slowly made his way over to Victor who in turn yanked Yuuri into a hug over the side of the rink. Which would’ve been fine had it not been for the sharp pain in his side. Yuuri hissed and Victor let go immediately. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I’m sorry! I was just worried! You just left and I was just worried, I’m sorry!”

“It’s fine, Victor, I’m fine,” he winced as he stepped off the ice. Victor grabbed his shoulders as to try and help him. “Honestly, I’m fine! I just came to loosen up a bit. All this bed rest is getting to me. I miss the ice.”

“I know you do, but what’s important right now is getting better. Come on, let’s go back--”

“I have to stay at least somewhat in shape for the Grand Prix Finals.”

Victor froze at that. He’d been reaching for Yuuri’s hand but it now his own waited frozen in the air between the two of them. The Russian’s face was stark white. He seemed as fragile as ice. “Yuri, you aren’t skating in the Grand Prix Finals.”

“Yes I am, I’ll be fine Victor, I swear. This is my last season skating competitively, I can't just stop after getting this far! I’ll replace some jumps with performance and be extra careful. It’ll be great, Victor we’re so close!” Yuuri grabbed his boyfriend and coach’s hand. They were in this together. But the hand remained just as frozen as Victor.

“Yuri, you’re not skating in the finals. I’m saying this as your coach and someone who cares about you. It’s too risky Yuri, you can’t do this.”

“Yes, I, can.”

“No Yuri, you won’t be skating in the Grand Prix Finals nor for the rest of this season. You’ll recover and we’ll try next season. Now let’s go back, come on Makkachin.” Victor pulled him forward softly. No, Victor may be his coach, but this was his decision.

“I will be skating Victor. A lot of people don’t want me to, but I will be. This is my decision and that’s final. Nothing you say will change my mind, I will be doing this.” He tugged away but Victor grabbed his wrist hard. The man was facing forward, Yuuri couldn’t see his face. That just irritated him more. 

“Yuri, you’re hurt, take the time to recover and next year you will be twice as good as you are now.” Victor’s voice was barely above a whisper and he still wouldn’t meet his eyes. 

“No. I will be--”

“YOU WERE STABBED! You were stabbed and could’ve died Yuri. I could’ve watched you die!” Victor turned and yelled. He had tears streaming down his face. Sure he could’ve died, but he didn’t! He was standing here right now and was going to be fine. He wanted to do this!

“Sure I could have, but I’m fine! I can do this!” 

“It’s not a matter of can and can’t Yuri. I, I was so scared I was going to lose you! I just found you! I, I thought you were going to die! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO DIE!” 

“BUT I DIDN’T”

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” 

“Then what is it Victor? You’re scared I get that, everyone is worried, but I’m not that weak Victor. I can do this, why can’t you have faith in me?”

“Yuri…”

“No Victor, why can’t you? I’m alive, I’m going to be fine, what is the issue here?”

“I, Yuri, I… you, you were attacked, by my, My, MY fan. What if it happens again? I’m the reason you have to put your dream on hold Yuri! If, if I had never been your coach, if I hadn’t come here then you would be okay! Yuri this is my--”

He slapped Victor. He slapped Victor straight across the cheek and he slapped hard. “Your fault? I thought that knife was coming at you Victor. I put myself between you and that crazy lady and I’d do it again. Don’t you ever, don’t you ever dare call this your fault again. You hear me?”

“I, but, its, she was, I’m--” 

“Do you hear me?” he grabbed Victor’s face between his hands. The man nodded. “What was that?”

“Yes, I, I hear you.” Teary blue eyes met his own. 

“Come here then,” he held his arms out. Victor buried his face in Yuuri’s chest. Careful of his wound, he let the other encase him in a hug. He could feel Victor’s tears through his jacket. “We’ll do this together, we’ll take the skating world by storm and when it’s done, we will have victory.” 

They stayed like that for awhile. He say Yuuko over Victor’s head at one point but she quickly left after noticing the two. He managed to maneuver his boyfriend to a bench so he wouldn’t still be standing on his skates because after a while it did start to hurt. But they’d do this together. They’d win the Grand Prix Finals and then, well then, who knew what would happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So that was pretty intense pretty fast. Which let me tell you was a surprise for me too because I’m just kinda letting this story write itself and going along for the ride. But don’t think that’s the last of the tears. There’s plenty more where those came from. (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧


	3. Piece by piece

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: WOO ITS BREAK!!!! The only thing stopping me from writing now is me sleeping all day and pokemon moon, which is actually a lot. Whoops… I’ll find time to write, I really am liking this story.

Viktor didn’t know how it happened necessarily, but against everyone else’s wishes, they were going to aim for the Grand Prix Finals. Of course the public didn’t know yet. Yuri had wanted to tell them, but Viktor had looked into it and said how much more surprising it would be if he just showed up to skate. He didn’t want Yuri to promise something to the public and then not be able to follow through. Disappointing those who supported you hurt a lot. He would know.

So they took it slow. Yuri was incredibly frustrated. Viktor wasn’t even counting the times there were tears. It was plain as day to see. The Grand Prix Finals were in three weeks. It had been a week since the day Yuri had talked him into letting him skate. He was about as frustrated as Yuri. He didn’t like seeing the skater like this. 

Every time Yuri wanted to jump or do a spin he would start to do it and then stop because he knew he couldn’t. Sure he could do the whole program without both of those attributes but it was not what they had made it to be. It was frustrating. He had suggested changing some of the choreography but Yuri gave him the silent treatment for a whole day after that. It’s not like Viktor wanted to change the program! He thought it was perfect and he still cried a little every time he saw either the short or free programs.

It took every ounce of patience to get Yuri off the ice for breaks or to actually rest like he was supposed to be doing. He was as stubborn as a mule and more often than not lashed out at Viktor because of his own frustration. Viktor shrugged it off. Better Yuri take it out on him than bottle it up. Still, he worried for the Japanese skater. He had never gotten seriously injured before (well not for a long time anyways nor this serious) so whatever Yuri was going through, he couldn’t relate. That’s what made him mad.

He was at a loss for what to do. He didn’t want Yuri to give up. That would go against everything they both stood for. So Viktor let Yuri keep trying, no matter how much it hurt to watch, because he hadn’t been able to protect his skater. Phichit had called to try and cheer Yuri up, but after learning the Japanese skater wanted to participate in the Grand Prix Finals, the two had gotten into a fight. Yuri hadn’t talked to him since. Yuri had also cut off his other little skater friends, Guang Hong and Leo de la Iglesia, if he remembered correctly. All three had been in contact with him through various forms of social media. Even Yurio tried to offer his skater some kind of support, even if it wasn’t exactly said directly. None of it seemed to work.

It was frustrating, he wasn’t exactly good with emotions in the first place and others’ were just beyond him. So Viktor kept helping Yuri back up. He kept offering his support and unconditional love. It’s all he could do really. 

The worst part was after the day had ended, when Viktor had finally managed to drag Yuri to bed only to wake up three hours later, and find him gone from his side. That’s what really frustrated him. It’s like Yuri thought he had to fight this battle alone. Like he thought he could fix everything overnight! If there was a way to do so, he would’ve already found and done so! 

Tonight was no different. When Viktor awoke to the sound of his phone vibrating, Yuri was gone. Looking at his phone he saw it was two am and he had a text from Yurio _your boyfriend is up skating again, yuuko is worried, get him to stop making her worry asshole._

Running a hand through his hair, he climbed out of bed. This was stopping tonight, enough was enough. Makkachin was nowhere to be found, meaning he was with Yuri. Which meant Yuri left hours ago; Makkachin wouldn’t move if it was past midnight, he loved his sleep. Sighing, he set off after his missing family. 

The ice rink was silent when Viktor slipped in the unlocked back entrance. If it hadn’t been for the small light from the room over, he would’ve panicked at the thought of Yuri being missing. Yet there he was, unlacing his skates slowly, Makkachin sitting loyally at his side. Leaning on the doorway, he watched his boyfriend remove his skates painstakingly slow. When Yuri tried to go faster, at normal speed, he would wince and slow down again. There had to be something he could do. Before he could though, Yuri noticed him.

“Viktor, um, what are you doing here? Its, its not what you think it is! I um, uh…” Yuri jumped at the sight of him in the doorway. Makkachin waltzed over and rubbed against his leg in greeting before taking his spot back next to Yuri and lying down.

“Yuri,” the skater flinched, “why are you out of bed at this hour? I said you could skate, but this, Yuri you can’t keep doing this.” He sat on the bench next to him.

“I, I didn’t mean to disappoint you, I don’t wanna disappoint anyone -- especially myself -- that’s why I have to keep working at this. I, I’m so close Victor, I’m so close but my side is just, it’s just ruining everything.” 

“Yuri, you’re not disappointing anyone. Not me, not your fans, and especially not yourself. Look at where you are, I’d rather you take it slow, try your best, and if need be, try again next year when you’re all better. I thought I would never get to see you skate again. I thought this was where our story ended and I couldn’t handle it. But this is where it’s just beginning Yuri, so whatever happens, we’re gonna do it together.” He shifted so their two hands between them intertwined. 

“I’m sorry, I just, I feel like I’m not good enough again and I hate this feeling! I want it to go away! I, I didn’t mean to push everyone away in the process.” Yuri laid his head on Viktor’s shoulder. 

They stayed like that for awhile. In silence, just pressed up against one another. When Yuri started to doze off, Viktor carried him home after turning off the lights and locking up behind him. He walked slowly, trying not to jostle the sleeping Yuri in his arms. Makkachin trotted along next to him. Maybe he couldn’t protect Yuri from everything. Maybe that made him incredibly angry and ready to fight anyone who even dared look at his skater funny. Regardless, it stood that he couldn’t protect what he loved. So he would stay right here, right by Yuri’s side and support him.

And if that crazy bitch, or anyone or anything else dared harm a hair on his boyfriend’s head, well, he’d make sure Yuri never got hurt again. Not if he could help it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Good lordy lord that took me forever to write. I got stuck here and there so hopefully it still flows like I wanted it to. Also Makkachin is fine okay. What do you mean episode eight? You mean Makkachin happily eating all those buns and get scolded bc he’s in trouble but he’s okay? Makkachin is totally okay of course. (I’m in severe denial anything could hurt this pupper)


	4. Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hahaha how can break already be over…. (╥_╥)

After his talk with Victor a couple days ago, Yuuri had yet to skate beyond the times both he and Victor were there. He wasn't making enough progress to be skating at the Grand Prix Finals anymore. Naturally to balance out the less practice, he started to work harder when he was practicing. He started throwing some basic spins and moves in. Nothing too fancy. Just an easy step sequence could hurt if he turned too much. 

It was frustrating, but he kept working through. Frustration was just one of the aspects of his skating career, if it applied more now than so be it. He wasn't going to let it stop him. He wasn’t going to let anything stop him anymore. And his determination was paying off. 

He could make simple jumps again by the end of the week. A single axel was the first jump he landed. A double toe loop was the next jump landed, a few days later. By that Friday he was feeling so much better. He was confident he could land this next jump, a triple axel. He first thought he should wait another day or two, but his patience was already nonexistent by this point. So he went for it.

And he landed it. Holy shit he landed it. Yuuri turned to find Victor and saw his boyfriend staring, mouth agape. “Victor! Victor! Did you see that? I did it Victor, I did it!” 

The man didn’t react, he just kept staring. Was something wrong? His sense of adrenaline faded, oh, that’s what was wrong. Looking down he saw what he expected, blood, dark red seeping through his grey shirt. Only when he saw it did the pain hit him. A phantom knife straight through his side. Last time he didn’t remember what it felt like to get stabbed, but now, he didn’t think he’d ever forget.

Yuuri didn’t know what to do. He was on the middle of the ice. He was bleeding. Victor was so far away. Oh god he was never going to make it all the way over there. It hurt to breathe. 

“Yuri! Yuri stay right there! I’m coming Yuri, just stay there okay? Can you do that for me?” Victor called out to him and he nodded in return. He didn’t trust his voice to actually work at the moment. “Yuko, Yuko call an ambulance! It’s Yuri! He’s reopened his wound!” 

Yuuri didn’t even know if Yuuko responded. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart and his own breathing. Someone grabbed his shoulders and he swung blindly at them, jerking his side too fast. His side flared and he gasped for air. 

“Yuri, Yuri I need you to look at me baby can you do that? Can you look at me? Everything’s gonna be fine Yuri I promise.” he looked up at Victor. The world was blurring together a bit. The only thing that seemed to exist was the crimson splattering against frost and the frost in watery eyes in front of him. “Yuri you need to stay awake, focus on me okay? You need to stay awake can you do that?” 

He didn’t know if he could do that. The world was spinning now. He was really tired. Was he that out of shape again? He hadn’t eaten any pork cutlet bowls recently. Black spots flashed in the corners of his vision. Yuri tried to blink them away to no avail. 

Last time, he hadn’t heard Victor scream. He had know the other had, but it had been beyond his at that point. This time, he would never forget.

When he woke up in the hospital again, it was dark out. His side hurt like a bitch, he was alone, and now he couldn’t skate in the Grand Prix Finals. He cursed his own stupidity. Why had he kept trying? He knew why, but still what if he never got to skate again now? He tried sitting up, but quickly found that it was a stupid idea to really move at all because his side was probably going to kill him.

It felt like forever but finally someone came in the room. He leaned up on forearms, hoping it would be Viktor, but it was Yu-chan who was in tears.

“Yuuri!” she ran over and hugged him, careful of his side. “Yuuri, there was so much blood! I thought you were going to die!”

“I’ll be fine Yu-chan” He patted her back, but looked away when she let go. 

“I know, but everyone was so scared Yuuri.” She wiped her tears when he turned back towards him.

“Yu-chan, where’s Viktor?” She looked away the second he asked. Was he okay? Did something happen?

“Yuuri,” she made eye contact as her voice dropped to a whisper, “Victor’s gone.” 

“Gone? What do you mean gone? Gone back home for the night?” 

“No Yuuri, Victor, he, he left. No one knows where he went.”

The whole world seemed to stop. Left? Victor left? Now, after everything that had happened? After all they had been through? 

“Yu-chan he--” 

“We thought he just went to go get air, at first, but then an hour passed so we went to go look for him. But he was gone. Your sister went back to your house and all his stuff is still there, from what we can tell anyways. Makkachin is still there too. He hasn’t come back yet. He’s not answering his phone either.” she reached for his hand. He pulled them away. “Yuuri…”

She seemed to get the message and left a few minutes later. He was glad she did because he was holding back tears. Now, alone once again, he didn’t stop them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Shorter chapter but the next one will be much longer so don’t worry!


	5. Meet Me Where I Am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So I had the rest of the story planned out, but now I feel it does not match what they show would've made it. So I'm changing it and I think y'all will like this ending a lot better ;)

Viktor was pissed. After traveling all this way, no one was willing to give him the time of day. Him, Viktor Nikiforov, the living legend. Maybe his frustration was getting to his head. Regardless of his status as a skater, as the coach of one of the Grand Prix Finals skaters, someone should at least pity listen to what he had to say. He’d come all this way, all this way, and for what? Currently all he had was a raging headache, a case of jet lag, and a boyfriend who was alone and probably devastated back in Japan. His damned phone had broken when he had gotten out of the cab to catch the last minute flight. It was times like these he wished he was cuddling with his two favorites in the whole world, Yuri and Makkachin. Instead he was in Spain. 

Finally someone came by and let him in. He had marched straight up to the official runners of the Grand Prix series and told them Yuri would be competing in the Final. They were all shocked but because no one said no, he said both him and Yuri would be there in two months because Yuri was competing. 

“Give him first skate, give him last, I don’t care! Just know he will be here and he will be in this competition official. Tell the media that Katsuki Yuri is still going to skate in the Grand Prix Finals!” He slammed his fist on the table and walked away. Yakov had always called him overly dramatic for a reason.

Now that his first order of business was out of the way, his second was to head back home. He considered buying a new phone first, but after asking a fan of his to look up flights to Japan, he realized he could do something better and catch the next flight back in an hour. So that’s what he did.

He took a cab to the airport, flirted with the airline worker into giving him a last minute discount, and passed out on the plane the second he could. The only thing left to do was to figure out how to apologize to Yuri for just up and leaving without explanation. He’d been so excited to hear the news. The doctor had said, if Yuri rested and did very minimal activity for the next two months -- meaning no ice time -- then he could skate again without worry of reopening his wound again. It wouldn’t be pain free and it wasn’t a perfect plan, but at this point, Viktor figured it was the only option left. 

He managed to navigate his way out of the airport, but the real trouble was making it back to the hot spring and Yuri. Sure he and Yuri maye have been teaching each other bits and pieces of their languages, but it sure wasn’t enough to give directions without his phone to know where he was actually going. He tried to remember what he did last time, but he couldn’t for the life of him.

So he butchered his way through several conversations. The first with an airport information lady who was actually really nice and helpful. He got to the train station and on a train, but then he forgot where he had to get off because he couldn’t read the signs. That lead to a conversation with an old man who told him when it was his stop. Then he had to ask a couple of school kids which way to the hospital. They actually walked with him part of the way as they happened to be going in the same direction. One of the kids seemed to recognize him as Yuri’s coach and asked if Yuri was okay. 

“Yes, he is okay, he just needs time to recover.” Viktor hoped they understood at least that much with their limited grasp of English. Turns out the kids were better at the language then he had ever been at their age.

“Did Katsuki-san know you were leaving Victor-san?” 

“Um…” he hadn’t thought about that, “No he didn’t.”

“But if you left him in the hospital alone, isn’t he gonna be mad?”

“Yeah! If my boyfriend left me all alone in a time like this, I would be super mad!” 

The kids talked about what they would do in this situation if they were Yuri but Viktor zoned them out till they got to the hospital and he waved to them as they left. One of the girls, the one who recognized him earlier, wanted him to sign her notebook. As she put her notebook back in her bag she gave him a big smile and said, “Don’t worry Victor-san, I’m sure Katsuki-san will forgive you soon,” with that she was off. Viktor stood and watched them go. They were right, Yuri was not going to be very happy with him. 

Yup, those kids had been right.

The second he walked into the hospital he felt the pit in his stomach grow. As he rode the elevator to Yuri’s floor, he was already trying to figure out how to explain himself. When he didn’t see anyone in the hallway and Yuri’s door opened, he was relieved that he didn’t have to go through any awkward exchanges. Was relieved, until Yuri’s sister walked out of the room and closed it behind her. She took a minute to notice him and he froze like a deer in the headlights. Mari Katsuki simply glared at him as she walked over to him at the other end of the hallway. It simply seemed like she would blow by him till she raised her hand and smacked him across the check.

“Don’t you ever, do something like this again and break his heart, or I’ll break your neck.” she continued walking on into the open elevator behind him. He slowly lifted his hand to his cheek and touched the, no doubtedly, red mark. It stung something fierce and hurt as badly as her words had his heart. _Break his heart_ , his decision to help Yuri only ended up hurting him again. 

He could hear the scream in his mind. He remembered blood and ran down the hallway. Throwing open the door to Yuri’s room, he locked eyes with the man who was sitting in bed. Okay, alive, breathing, not bleeding, fine. He stood panting in the doorway, sweat beading on the back of his neck while they stared at one another. 

“Victor? You-” Yuri was the first to break the silence. 

“Yuri, I-”

“Just left, how could you-”

“I’m sorry for just leaving!” he yelled over Yuri, startling the other. When the skater didn’t interrupt, he continued, “I heard about our chances, your chances, to skate in the Grand Prix Finals and I had to make sure you still had a spot. I’m really sorry for just taking off and leaving you, please forgive me!”

He didn’t move from the doorway. Of course he had closed it behind him as to try and be considerate, but he doubted a closed door was doing much over how loud he was being. Still, Viktor felt hesitant to come any further into the room, was he really allowed back just like that? There had to be more to it, he shouldn’t be welcomed back that easily. 

“Victor, I woke up, I woke up, in the hospital! And, and you were just gone! Victor, no one knew where you were! I thought you had finally given up on being my coach!” 

“Yuri, I would nev-” 

“I KNOW THAT! You think I don’t know that by now?” Yuri had tears streaming down his face as his voice cracked once again. “I heard the news Victor, but, but you just left. No letter, no text, no nothing.”

“My, my phone broke, and I just wanted to make sure that you could still skate in the Grand Prix Finals. I, I’ve watched you break yourself in two for this Yuri, if you had the chance, I wanted to make sure you still had it.” he still didn’t move from the doorway. But when Yuri held his arms out, Viktor didn’t let anything stop him from running straight to his boyfriend. 

“Just promise me, you won’t do something like this again. You just could’ve called them you know, not fly halfway across the world to ask.” 

“Well I, I, well-” 

Yuri just laughed at him. But if that meant he was forgiven, well then he would accept that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: THIS SHOW NEEDS TO STOP ONE-UPING MY ASS I CANT COME UP WITH THIS SHIT FAST ENOUGH AND THEY’RE ALREADY LIKE TEN LEVELS AHEAD OF ME, WHAT EVEN. That being said, episode nine killed me. Praise these show writers.


	6. Inspiration

He was dying. He was going to die here. This is how Yuuri Katsuki would leave the world. A sad and tragic way to go after everything else he had just been through. How was his mother going to cope? What about his father and sister? Yu-chan and her family too. Then Victor and Makkachin, beautiful but stupid Victor, they would both be so heartbroken. He’d miss Makkachin so much, Victor too, but Makkachin was better currently. After the last stunt Victor had pulled. 

Yuuri was still pissed at Victor. He’d taken to sleeping back in his room and Makkachin chose to sleep with him, which was how it should be, Victor needed to realize just what he had done. Thankfully, Makkachin was smart enough to pick his side. 

Two whole months of no skating. Two months. He hadn’t been of the ice that long since before he was born! Okay so maybe not that long but still, he’d never gone that long since he first set foot on the ice. Sure he’d be able to skate in the Grand Prix Finals, but while everyone was perfecting their programs, he was perfecting the art of doing nothing. 

He was also extremely bored. All the time, what did people do if they weren’t skaters? He had no clue what to do other than sleep and eat. Talk about getting out of shape. This time he wasn’t even getting out of shape eating katsudon, he was just lazing around. It had been two weeks, and he didn’t think he was going to make it. Still, the Grand Prix Finals weren’t that far off. He could do this.

 

Abort mission, he could not do this. Two more weeks had passed and seventeen times now he had been caught trying to sneak off to go ice skating. To go anywhere actually. If he could just go for a light jog maybe he wouldn’t feel so crazy anymore. Victor wouldn’t let him go anywhere alone, it was driving Yuuri insane. He’d seen Victor quietly talking to his parents several times now, and it wouldn’t be such a big deal, if they didn’t instantly stop talking the second he entered the room. He wasn’t going to make it to the Grand Prix Finals at this rate. 

Two more days passed, two agonizing days of conversations, _clearly about him_ , behind his back. The worst part of it all, Victor acted like he didn’t know what Yuuri was talking about. He was going to scream. So he decided to try and get some insider inspiration. He texted Yurio.

_Hey, Yurio, do you have any idea if Victor is planning something?_

He waited all of five minutes before a response came.

_No I don’t Katsudon, why would I know anyways? You’re the one always with him in case you’ve forgotten._

_Well he’s been talking to my family behind my back and that’s normal except when I enter the room, the conversation stops._

_Yup something is happening_

_Yeah, that’s the issue here. It’s driving me insane and he denies that anything is even happening._

_Oh, oh, ohhhhhhhh_

_Oh? Do you know something._

_No, when would Viktor tell me anything anyways? I have to get back to practice, have fun with your man issues Katsudon._

Well that left him with only more questions now. Thank you Yurio for nothing. So that left him with one option, attack the source. Later that night, when he was getting ready for bed, he striked. 

“Victor, what are you hiding from me?” his boyfriend, already in bed, just stared blankly at him for a moment.

“What are you talking about?”

Oh, so that’s how this was going to go.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. I enter the room and suddenly the conversation stops.”

“What a strange coincidence. But Yuri, don’t you think I’d tell you if something was happening?”

They had a stare off for a few minutes before Yuuri decided it was time to play his trump card.

“Sure Victor, come on Makkachin, we’re sleeping in my room tonight.” he turned and walked out the room with Makkachin padding along behind him. Surely this would get Victor to crack.

“Yuri wait!” 

Bingo.

“I, I was going to surprise you for an early Christmas, but I guess knowing earlier isn’t a problem”

“So, what is it?” turning on his heel, he pivoted to face his boyfriend. Makkachin sat obediently next to him. “I’m waiting Victor.”

“I wanted to take you to St. Petersburg for Christmas.”

Oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh. Well, that was not what he had expected.

“You wanted to take me to your home for Christmas?” he stares at Viktor in shock, this is not at all what he expected. Granted he really hadn’t know what to expect, but still, it was surprising. Victor just runs his fingers through his hair in uncertainty.

“Yes, I’m sorry for not asking if you wanted to go first, but I just thought-” he interrupts Victor with a finger to the other’s lips.

“Stupid Victor, of course I’ll go”

 

A week later they’re in Viktor’s apartment. Yuuri had been there before, so it wasn’t anything new but it still felt empty to him. This was the place Victor called home, but it didn’t feel like one at all. So Yuri spent the week before Christmas fixing that.

His first project was adding color to this dull apartment. He dragged Victor to a hardware store and they picked out a few colors. Victor had complained about certain colors being too bright or too dark so Yuuri threw ice blue at him and said deal with it. Painting was another adventure in itself because at first Victor hadn’t wanted him to paint because he could hurt himself. So in response Yuuri had flicked paint at Victor and ruined his jacket. At least that’s Victor said, but hey now Yuuri had a new jacket to wear and it was Victor’s, that made his boyfriend shut up about painting being too much of a strain.

His second project was the collage of photos he would put together when Victor would go out during the day. Yuri Plisetsky had asked Victor to come and help him on a few things know that the man was back in Russia. Yuuri saw no harm in it as Yuri was his friend now. The two would often come together to watch movies (Disney specifically) in Victor’s living room. Staying up till the early hours despite Victor’s protests that they both needed to get actual sleep. 

Lastly his third project had nothing to do with the apartment actually. It was Victor’s birthday present. He had been contemplating it for weeks - he did have a lot of free time after all. Still, he had no idea what to get his boyfriend/coach. The man who had done so much for him. 

Finally, Christmas came and Yuuri was just completely unprepared. Victor didn’t give him a chance to slip away though. They spent the day on the couch watching Christmas movies, curled up on one another with Makkachin in the middle. But when night fell, Victor said he had a surprise for Yuuri. They left the apartment and walked several blocks. The cold air stung Yuuri’s face but other than that he couldn’t feel anything but the warmth of Victor next to him. The Christmas lights strung across the street illuminated their path. A block away from their destination, he recognized where they were. 

The skating rink was dark today. Victor retrieved a key from his coat pocket and unlocked the doors. The rink was dark except for the outside lights and the moon peaking through the glass. Yuuri watched while Victor put on his skates. Then he watched the world outside as snow began to fall. He turned back to the ice when he heard the sound of the blades stop scraping. 

“Yuri, don’t take your eyes off me.” all he could do was nod.

Victor got into a starting position, he recognized it instantly, this was his free skate. Victor started and Yuri forgot how to breathe. The music didn’t exist but Yuuri could hear it in his heart. Victor went into the quadruple toe loop easily and continued with the program after the double toe loop combination. It felt weird to see Victor skate the program he had done so many times now. A quadruple salchow. He couldn’t tear his eyes away even if he wanted to. A triple loop. He could hear the music as if it was playing right next to him. The triple axel. Then a triple flip. 

Victor danced across the ice as if he was a part of the ice itself. Is this how Victor felt watching him skate this program? The triple axel, single loop, and triple salchow. Victor made it look so effortless. As if this was something he’d seen straight out of his dreams. A triple lutz and triple toe loop combination flowed straight into the step sequence. He was lost in Victor’s movements. Each turn, each step, each spin had him lost somewhere out there with Victor on the ice. With practiced ease, Victor made the last jump into a quadruple flip. With a final spin, he ended, hand outstretched to Yuuri, other hand over his heart.

It was in that moment, Yuuri knew that his gift was the right one. As if he had ever completely doubted it in the first place. He stared in awe as Victor skated over to   
him and stepped off the rink. 

“So, what did you think.” Victor was out of breath. Even with just the lights from the world outside reflecting off the ice, Yuri could see just how hard Victor had worked. Taking a deep breath, he could only hope that Victor had found what Yuri had when he skated the program.

“I think,” Yuri reached into his coat pocket and felt for the small, velvet box. He grasped it tight and took a knee, “I think, I want you to stay by me forever. Victor Nikiforov, will you marry me?” 

Frozen, just like the ice they both loved so much, Victor stared at him with watery eyes.

“Yes,” he pulled Yuuri up, closer to him, “yes I’ll marry you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: TOP THAT WRITERS! Also ignoring all the reasons/obstacles that would stop them from getting married in real life. Next update won’t be for at least nine or ten days bc finals r here and rip me man, rip me. For everyone with finals or final projects I wish you the best of luck! You can do it!


	7. Theif

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Yeah they topped it … also why study? Who needs studying?

The Grand Prix Finals were here. After spending Christmas and New Year's in St. Petersburg, Viktor and Yuri were now in Barcelona. Today marked the start of the skating competition they had been working to all this time. Viktor was actually the really nervous one this time. He found it strange, considering he had never been nervous about a competition before. 

Yuri was just anxious to get on the ice, his fiance could not sit still. On the plane, in the cab to the hotel, in the hotel, and now waiting for practice to start. Yuri was stilling fidgeting even while putting his skates on. Viktor knew there were two possibilities that could happen when Yuri took his first steps onto the ice. One, Yuri would skate like he had never had time off or two, Yuri would fall on his face. He was hoping for the first one because if Yuri was going to win, he had to be better than when he had been on the ice last. Regardless of what happened or how long it had been. No one in this competition would skate anything but their best performances and Yuri needed to do the same. 

Thankfully, when he had flown here impulsively, the organizers of the competition asked the other skaters and allowed for the setup of a smaller side rink so Yuri could get extra practice in. Viktor found himself going around to thank the other Grand Prix Finalists. Phichit had said he wanted to face his friend at their bests. Otabek and JJ said they would win regardless. Yurio had merely scoffed and said he had his own practice to go to. Chris had said if Yuri was going to participate, he had to be in the best shape he could be on the ice or it wouldn’t have been worth Viktor leaving. 

He didn’t tell Yuri that last part. 

His skater was already struggling enough. When he had gone around to thank the other skaters, he had left Yuri to do some warm ups. When he had returned, Yuri was completely out of breath. The skater had insisted he was fine and continued to practice like that wasn’t extremely worrying. Yuri had simply told him was too late to back out now and went back to practicing jumps. Viktor tried to ignore the small pit of worry now forming in his stomach. 

The next day was the short program day. Yuri would be going first. Viktor wondered if this is how nervous Yuri felt during competitions normally. His skater showed no signs of anxiety however, at least none Viktor could pick up on. Yuri looked unnaturally calm throughout all of warm ups. 

When it was almost time for Yuri to start however, the nervousness returned. Yuri bit his lip as he skated over to Viktor after warmups. Yet, this was not the nervousness Viktor had expected. Yuri grabbed his collar and pulled him close so their foreheads were touching.

“I want you to look at me and only me. I want everyone here, the whole world to know, how we feel.” his skater locked eyes with him. Viktor nodded, unable to find the words to say to that. He did have another idea though, to calm both his and Yuri’s nerves.

Viktor closed his eyes, leaned over the rink wall, and went for a kiss. Yuri met him halfway. It was short and sweet but the message was clearly there for all to see. Viktor wanted to give it a different meaning for him and his fiance though.

“A kiss, for good luck.”

Yuri merely smiled brightly at him.

Just like that, his skater’s anxiety was gone. That’s when he knew. Yuri would do amazing, but as Yuri took starting position he winked at Viktor. There was no longer any doubt, Yuri was going to win the short program. 

The music started. It was a flawless start, last time Yuri had given Viktor a wink before launching into the program. This time, Yuri somehow managed to blow a kiss at Viktor. He was not holding back today. 

The step sequences flowed, the turns were a little stiff but that was fixable for tomorrow. The spins were perfect and his first jump was a triple axel. If anything, Viktor was scared for the jumps. But both the triple axle, and even the quadruple salchow were perfect. He couldn’t look away. Yuri’s skating was a memorizing sight. He could swear he felt his face getting red. Maybe it was just getting hot in here.

This was the Eros he had choreographed. This was the Yuri who seduced him all those months ago. This was the man who captured the heart of one of the world’s hottest bachelor’s and had held it for months without fail even when they hadn’t spoken. A quadruple toe loop, a triple toe loop, he touched down. But got right back up into his ending spin. A nearly perfect performance. He had been so close too! 

Yuri collapsed onto his knees. 

No, no, no! His skater held up a hand, telling his coach not to come onto the ice. All Viktor could do was watch his fiance pick himself up and slowly skate over to him.

“Are you okay? Do you need to sit down? Is there anything I can get you? Do you need to rest? Are you-” he was interrupted by a loud squeal from the ice. 

_It, it seems someone has tossed a ring on the ice!_

The announcer was shocked and Viktor was about to go hunt down whoever threw a ring to his fiance when he caught sight of Yuri’s hand. That was Yuri’s ring.  
He could only stare in shock as his skater called out from where they stood towards the ice.

“Um, I’m sorry, but can I have that? That’s actually my ring, it must have fallen off when I fell after my program.” there was not any tone in Yuri’s voice that hinted to him actually being sorry. The whole rink fell silent. All you could hear was the blades of the flower sweeper against the ice as the young girl skated over to Yuri with the ring in hand. 

Yuri moved to meet her at the side wall, but stumbled. Viktor caught his skater and walked him over to the side of the rink, putting his hand on the wall to help stabilize the shaky skater. She handed the ring to Yuri who left go of Viktor’s right hand and put it on. He placed his left hand on the wall to make sure the ring  
was still in good condition. 

Viktor clearly didn’t give Yuri enough credit as the playboy of the story.

Two rings, clearly a match, side by side on the rink wall for the world to see. And everyone saw. The rest of the day was a flurry of interviews and congratulations. Yuri had snagged third, barely placing above Phichit and Otabek by merely a few points each. 

When they finally made it back to the hotel room, Viktor found he needed an answer.

“Why did you drop your ring on the ice today? Weren’t we going to announce the engagement after the Grand Prix Finals?” 

“Well I thought about those embarrassing videos you showed me last week and I realized that I was wrong about this program the whole time.” red in the face, Yuri locked eyes with him before continuing, “It turns out you weren’t the playboy who seduced the most beautiful woman in town, it was me all along. I thought it be nice to let the world know that the most beautiful one of all was mine now.” 

Viktor could only laugh at that.

“Hey! Don’t laugh! I just complimented you!” 

“I can’t help it, you’re so cute when you’re jealous!” 

“I’m not cute! I’m the handsome playboy!”

“Well you’re my handsome pork cutlet bowl.” 

“Victor!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Next chapter will be the free program. If u thought yuri was surprising in this chapter well u better hold onto to ur caps folks, ;) he ain’t the playboy for nothin.


	8. History Maker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Cranberry red bull has a weird aftertaste man. Also bless kubo-sensei have u seen the costume exchange? Also bear with me on this, I didn’t find anything saying that I couldn’t do this soooo I did it bc I am a sucker for this idea.〜(￣▽￣〜) (〜￣▽￣)〜

Today was the day. Today was the day he won a gold medal in the Grand Prix Finals. That was the first thing Katsuki Yuuri thought upon waking up. The second was the _agonizing_ pain in his side. Hissing, he sat up and pulled up his shirt. The bright red mark was irritated. The stitches were long gone, but the scabs that had formed were stretched and peeling off. Gently prodding the wound, he winced. Well, that was going to make today difficult. Still he was going to go with his plan and make this Free Program the best the world had ever seen. Even if he never got to skate again, he would make this last performance a show stopper.

He turned to find the other half of the bed empty. He could hear the shower running down the hall. Grunting, he got up to get dressed before Victor got out of the shower and freaked out because his side was bright red. He had already gotten everything else prepared so now all he needed today was the costume and Viktor to not see said costume till he went out on the ice to skate. Easier said than done probably, but it would ruin the surprise otherwise. 

Definitely easier said than done, he got to the rink for warm ups before the competition started for the day. He got on the ice and was down on a knee instantly. His side wasn’t that bad currently, but he waved Phichit off when his friend came over to make sure he was okay. Yurio pulled up next to him and the two other skaters hauled Yuuri off the ice. They handed him off to Victor and said that he would be going last today because he needed time to rest before his free program if he wanted to compete his best. 

Unbeknownst to them, this was only going to bring their downfall. Yuuri was going to use that last performance spot to win over the crowd and win. This did have Victor fawning over him the whole time the other skaters were warming up and even when they started their performances, Victor wouldn’t let him watch. 

“I’m fine Victor, just a rocky start. Now can I please watch the free programs? I want to know what I’m up against.” Victor had sat him down in a quiet corner and was currently glaring daggers at any press that dared to even step in the hallway.

“You know just as well as I do how nervous you can get Yuri.” Victor crossed his arms and made a pouty face that would have probably earned him a kick from Yurio had the Russian skater been there with them and not out competing right now.

“But I want to cheer on Phichit and Yurio!” 

“I know you do, but you still have to do stretches Yuri, try to take it easy okay?”

“It’s just stretches Victor, I’m not fragile. I’m not going to break I promise.” Getting up from the bench he was currently sitting on, he moved to stand in front of his coach.

“I know, I just get worried.” Victor looked down at Yuri’s side.

“Enough of that,” taking the other’s chin in his hand, he raised it up so he could see Victor’s eyes. “I’m right here, I’m fine, and I’m not going anywhere. Not that easily.”

“Such confidence, I wonder where you get it from.” 

Yuuri merely laughed and leaned into Victor, “Watch me again today, okay? Don’t take your eyes off me, I’m going to show the whole world what we’ve found.”

Victor wrapped his arms around Yuuri and buried his face in his skater’s hair.

“I have no doubt it will be the greatest free program the world has ever seen.”

When it was almost his turn to skate, Yuuri could feel the nervousness settle in his stomach. Yet, the second Victor took his hand to walk him to the ice, the butterflies melted away. It was time and the whole world was unprepared for what Katsuki Yuuri had to show it.

After a few laps and a few practice jumps, he felt ready. It was now or never and he was sure as hell not going to wait any longer. He had never felt excited to skate in a competition before, always nervous. Now, he was ready.

Skating over to where Victor stood along the rink wall, he unzipped his jacket to reveal a costume he had asked Minako-sensei to have made while he was in Russia with Victor. It was his normal costume colors. The deep blues with purple and magenta accents. There was just more gradient with his blues. Also it was based off of Victor’s outfit he wore when he skated “Stay Close to Me” last year. Yuuri just had his own personal twist on it. A closed top, instead of an open one.  
A black under layer instead of white. 

Taking a deep breath, he ignored the many shouts, gasps, and comments floating around at his new look. He didn’t need to hear them to know he surprised them. He also didn’t need to turn around to know he had shocked Victor. He got into starting position.

_There, There’s been an update in the program skater Katsuki will not be skating to “Yuri on Ice”, but rather to, to “Stay Close to Me”!_

Let them think it’s out of character, let them think this wasn’t like him. With Victor he had unlocked a new way of skating, a more confident way. As he heard the crowd quiet down, he could feel it. This is what Victor must’ve felt like when he was the best on the ice. The feeling of complete confidence - more or less. He wasn’t quite there yet but one day he would be.

The music started and with it, he painted their story. It was merely thoughtless after practicing the choreography yesterday. The jumps were what he was mainly worried about. The first was a quadruple lutz, he wasn’t so sure about it, but there was no holding back today. He went for it, perfect. Then right into the quadruple flip, this one he was even less sure of. He had only landed it once before. But he could feel the music in his body and followed it.

He landed it, a little rough, but he landed it. This was how he was going to show the world what the love he had found meant to him. This was how everyone would know. It was just him, the ice, and what he was feeling. There were a lot more spins than he felt comfortable with doing for a whole program currently. He landed the triple axel and moved into the first step sequence. 

The whole world was seeing what love had taught him, how it had made him stronger now that he knew it was supporting him. A flying sit spin - that one hurt but he was only about halfway, he couldn’t afford to stop now. He thought of a world where he never met Victor the way he did, a world where he hadn’t gone to that banquet and gotten wasted. A world where the Nishigori triplets hadn’t recorded him and uploaded it to the internet. A world where he still only knew Victor as a fan. A quadruple salchow, he touched down, but kept going right away even though he couldn’t help but wince at the pain in his side. A triple loop and a triple toe loop into the second step sequence. The spins were really starting to get to his side. But was having fun. A triple lutz and a triple flip. 

He finally saw Victor’s face for the first time in his whole performance. Yuuri remembered seeing Yu-chan’s face all those months ago at this part. Her surprise was miniscule compared to Victor’s, Though it had only been for a short time, there was no denying that the wide eyes and gaping mouth were only on him. The last quad, a quadruple toe loop and then a triple toe loop. The triple was turned into a double at the last second and when he went into the ending combination spin, Yuuri was sure he was probably going to die from this or at least faint. He couldn’t tell, he had lost feeling in his side after the last quad. 

The last note seemed to drag on forever, but when it was over. It was over. He could hear the applause and cheers through his heavy panting. He was possibly going to die here, but this, this was a feeling he never wanted to forget. 

Victor! Where was Victor! What did he think! Yuuri whipped around to face his coach only to see black spots dance in his vision as the adrenaline wore off and his pain returned ten fold. _His side screeched at him_. He could hear the sounds of skates scraping against ice as he slowly fell. This time, he didn’t know if he would get up. 

The last thing he remembered was seeing Victor’s crying face and thinking, _please don’t cry Vitya. I promise, I’ll be okay_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Could Yuuri actually skate Victor’s old program in competition? Probably not, but that’s not stopping me man, that’s the beauty of fanfiction. Also Yuuri will be okay I fucking swear he will be because I’m too damn invested in my own version of Victuuri to do that. That don’t mean it won’t be sad next chapter （○゜ε＾○）
> 
> Also now that my last final is Wednesday, you can probably expect the last two chapters to come out fairly quickly and by the last ep this story should be done if things go according to plan (do not expect them too, life don’t work like that for me sorry). But that’s only if I can stop planning my next project long enough to finish this one. Whoopsies.¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> UPDATE: KUBO HAS ONE UPED ME TEN FOLD AND I AM A OKAY WITH THAT PLEASE PUT THAT LAST SCENE ON MY GRAVE


	9. Stay Close to Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry this is hella later than I wanted it to be but I’ve had the mental capacity of a potato recently.

Viktor remembered the whole thing this time. He remembered Yuri’s routine, which he supposed was his, but Yuri had done it in a way he never could have. When Yuri fell, Viktor felt his whole world falling too. He had scrambled across the ice with the help of Yurio and Phichit. Yuri seemed fine, but upon ripping open the top of his costume, Viktor’s face paled. 

Angry red and deep purples started back at him. Some of the scabs seemed to have been ripped off through all the spins and jumps, leaving small, bloody patches behind. The wound hadn’t reopened which was good, but Yuri still wasn’t waking up. 

He remembered picking up his fallen skater and gently caring him off the ice where the standby medical team quickly was able to tell him that Yuri had probably just passed out from the pain of aggravating his healing side too much. Viktor was still feeling a little light headed himself, but this time he knew for sure Yuri would be okay. It was just a matter of when his skater would come to. 

Viktor sat up in his chair by Yuri’s bedside and grabbed the other’s hand when the medical staff dispersed. Ten minutes passed, then twenty, then thirty, and finally Yuri stirred. He took a few minutes to come around, but Viktor really wasn’t paying attention right then. Yurio had texted him,

_Tell Katsudon that next time I’ll be the one taking the Gold medal._

His skater slowly sat up and looked around the room confused. “Victor? What, what happened? Are the Grand Prix Finals over? Who, who won?” Yuri reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, “Victor? Victor what’s wrong?”

He hadn’t even realized he was crying. He knew he had cried when Yuri first fell after his performance, but now it had suddenly started again. These tears he couldn’t seem to stop no matter how much he rubbed at his eyes. 

“I, I don’t know. I guess I’m just amazed by you.” 

“Me? Why would you be amazed by me? You’re the five time champion! That’s five more gold medals than I have!” 

“No,” he shook his head, “now it's only four more.”

Yuri stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds and then he was crying too. Viktor pulled Yuri into a hug and buried his face into the other’s shoulder. They had done it. Against all odds, they had done it and they had done it together.

The medal ceremony was a few hours later. Viktor hadn’t wanted Yuri to go out on skates again, but both Yurio and Phichit promised to help support Yuri. The second place and third place skaters let Yuri have his moment in front before going back to making sure he didn’t fall after he got a little shaky. 

After the ceremony of course was the banquet. This year though, Yuri couldn’t drink sixteen champagne flutes and start a dance off because he was on pain medication. Viktor was secretly grateful for this because he wanted to be the only one Yuri ever won in a dance battle. His playboy who could woo the whole party, but he wasn’t about to share with anyone. 

But this year’s banquet was nothing like last years. Last banquet it had taken a drunken Yuri to push the party past nice small talk. This year, when Viktor walked in the room, it was already more welcoming than last year. It was still formal, but this year there wasn’t anything stopping everyone there from mingling between skating groups. It was amazing to see something that had always been so stiff and formal to loosen up a bit. It also didn’t seem like this time, there would be a big scene like last year. 

That was, until Phichit noticed their arrival. 

“YURI! I GET TO BE YOUR BEST MAN RIGHT?” 

Then all hell broke loose.

“A WEDDING? VIKTOR I BETTER GET TO BE YOUR BEST MAN!”

“HEY KATSUDON NEXT YEAR I’LL BE THE ONE WINNING GOLD AND GETTING MARRIED!”

“NOT IF I GET THERE FIRST! AFTER ALL ITS JJ-”

“SHUT UP ALREADY! YOU GOT SIXTH PLACE! I’M CLOSER TO FIRST THAN YOU!”

“WELL LAST YEAR THAT’S WHAT YURI GOT AND LOOK AT HIM NOW! YOUR ARGUEMENT IS INVALID!” 

“Don’t worry Yuri, I’m sure you’ll be able to win next year.”

“HA SEE JJ, OTABEK SAYS I’LL WIN!”

“Only if you manage to beat me first.”

“I SAID I’LL WIN! I’LL BEAT YOU, I’LL BEAT KATSUDON, I’LL BEAT ALL OF YOU! I’LL EVEN BEAT MYSELF!”

All those years at the top alone, was this what he had been missing out on his whole life? A year ago, he never would’ve imagined calling anyone here, except maybe Christophe, a friend. Especially not being able to call one of them more than that. He looked down at the ring on his finger, maybe this is what he had always been searching for.

“So Viktor when’s the wedding?” Christophe stood in front of him. Yuri had long been dragged away by Phichit and he could see Otabek holding Yurio back from murdering JJ. 

“I don’t know, but I’m not really in a rush. After all, we have all the time in the world.” 

 

-One Year Later-

 

_Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Grand Prix Finals! It’s been a close year and the stakes in the skating world have been high but here today we have the six men’s single finalist! First to qualify, Phichit Chulanont came in second in both skate America and in the China cup. Second to qualify is Yuuri Katsuki who placed first in both Trophée de France and the China cup. Third is Leo de la Iglesia who took first in Skate America and third in the Trophée de France. Fourth is Yuri Plisteky who took first in both Skate Canada and the Rostelecom cup. Fifth is Jean-Jacques Leroy who took second in Skate Canada and third in NHK. Our sixth qualifier is Otabek Atlin who took first in NHK and second it the Rostelecom cup._

_Every one of the skaters here today have all said they are aiming for Gold and that despite any out of rink friendships, they’re all rivals here._

"Are you ready Yuri?” His skater stood a few feet away doing stretches. 

“Not yet.”

“But you’re up next! You said you were ready last time I asked!” Yuri turned to face him and smiled.

“I know but I thought of something else I need before I take the ice.”

“What is it? I can go grab it super fast no-”

“You don’t need to go anywhere.”

“Then what do you need?” His skater took five steps forward and closed the space between them.

“A good luck kiss”

_Taking the ice now is last year’s winner Yuuri Katsuki, now known this year as Yuuri Katsuki Nikiforov and he has not only stolen the heart of skating legend Viktor Nikiforov, but the hearts of the skating world as well._

Viktor had seen Yuri skate before at least hundred times, but everytime, Yuri never failed to surprise him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: ITS OVER! ITS DONE! THAT’S IT, THAT”S THE END! I hope y’all enjoyed this as much as I did. I originally planned for ten chapters, but that didn’t end up happening. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> On another note, I will be starting a new fic, still yuri on ice but something a lot different so be on the lookout for that. I’m really excited for it! So until then, let’s all super-super-supercharge it for the last episode!


End file.
